ightly
cinnamon from the spores. It has no odor and the taste is insipid. We
found this in the woods in the month of October, growing on dead leaves;
a pretty fungus from the violet tints.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME FAMILIAR MUSHROOMS WITHOUT REGARD TO COLOR.

Here follows a list of fungi that we constantly see, but which cannot be
classified by the color of the cap.

POLYPOREI, PORE-BEARING FUNGI.

+FISTULINA HEPATICA = liver.+
+The Beefsteak Fungus.+

This species grows on trees, oaks or chestnuts, in hot weather. +Cap+ is
of a dark-red color, which probably suggested the name. It is generally
2 to 6 inches broad, but often grows to an immense size. The surface is
rough, the flesh thick, viscid above, soft when young, when old tough,
covered with tenacious fibres. +Stem+ short and thick. +Pores+ at first
pallid or yellowish-pink when young; they become brownish ochraceous
when old. It is changeable in form, is sometimes sessile (without a
stem), or it has a short lateral stem.

The genus Fistulina, to which this mushroom belongs, has the under
surface of the cap covered with minute hollow pores, which are separate
from one another and stand side by side. The shape varies. It is
sometimes long, shaped like a tongue, or roundish. It is
peculiar-looking. It is considered good for food and nourishing, but the
taste is said to be rather acid. The specimens we found varied from 2 to
5 inches in diameter. They were of a dark-red color, and were tough and
old. They grew upon a tree in a large forest, and were not found
anywhere else.

+POLYPORUS BETULINUS = birch.+
+The Birch Polyporus.+

We shall meet a great many fungi on our walks that belong to the genus
Polyporus. They are generally leathery (coriaceous) fungi, and many grow
on wood. A few are edible, but are not recommended as food. The species
P. betulinus is found on living and dead birch trees. The specimens we
found grew in great quantities, of all sizes, from 1 1/2 to 6 inches
broad. They were at first pure white, and then assumed a brownish tinge.
The edges were obtuse, the caps fleshy, then corky, smooth, the upper
ends not regular, oblique in the form of an umbo or little knob, the
pellicles or outside layers thin and easily separated. Pores short,
small, unequal, at length separating. The shape of the fungus is
peculiar, a sort of semi-circular outline that may be called dimidiate.
The margins were involute. They protruded from a split i